5 September 2008 / AP, DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
A helicopter carrying foreign contractors crashed into an oil platform off the coast of Dubai, killing all seven people on board and halting production in one of the emirate's four offshore oil fields, officials said on Thursday.
The Bell 212 helicopter crashed at 8:23 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Emirates' Civil Aviation Authority. It was carrying workers to a recently installed jackup rig owned by A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S but operated by oilfield service provider Petrofac Ltd. on behalf of Dubai Petroleum Co., the companies said. A fire broke out shortly after the crash on the main deck of the rig, which is located in the Rashid field about 40 miles (70 kilometers) off shore. Petrofac and Dubai Petroleum said the blaze was quickly extinguished but that all operations in the Rashid field have been halted. Olly Scott, a spokesman representing Petrofac, said it was unclear when the rig would be back in service. The victims included a citizen each from the United States, United Kingdom, Pakistan, the Philippines and Venezuela, as well as two Indians, the Emirati aviation authorities said. A Dubai Petroleum spokesman, who declined to be named because he wasn't yet authorized to give details of the crash to the media, said five of the victims were passengers and two were crew members.
